General Info

Howard & Hoffman, Inc was founded in 1906 when Clement W. Howard and William M. Hoffman formed a partnership on March 3, in Washington, DC. At the time, both men worked for Firemen's Insurance Company of Washington and Georgetown. Howard, 60, was Secretary and CEO and Hoffman, 33, was the Assistant Secretary. The desire to form the agency came from their desire to better serve their customers. In 1906 a gentleman from Dodge Hotel Corporation came into the Firemen's office looking for a policy to cover his new hotel. Unfortunately, he needed $100, 000 of coverage, and Fireman's capacity at the time was only $5, 000. When Mr. Hoffman told him that they could only insure $5, 000 of his hotel and that he would have to go elsewhere to insure the rest, he got very upset. Mr. Howard and Mr. Hoffman decided that the gentleman was right, they should be able to serve all of his insurance needs. They decided to form an agency representing larger multi-line insurance companies that could provide the coverage needed. Unhappily, Clement W. Howard did not get to see his new agency grow and prosper. He died the year after its founding. Hoffman died in 1951, having devoted 60 years to the insurance industry.